Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) joined U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in introducing the Fraud Accountability Act yesterday, which would explicitly add fraud as a deportable offense under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The bill would also make clear that any person who commits a deportable offense, now explicitly including fraud, would be subject to denaturalization.
“North Carolina taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill for blatant fraud schemes across the country,” said Senator Budd. “If government programs using taxpayer dollars are not run responsibly, we must ensure those who steal taxpayer dollars are held accountable.”
“Anyone who comes to the United States and steals from American taxpayers by committing fraud should be deported,” said Senator Blackburn. “The fraud schemes we have seen in Minnesota and across the country are a betrayal of hardworking American taxpayers, and individuals like the Somali scammers in Minnesota should be subject to both deportation and denaturalization for these crimes. The Fraud Accountability Act would hold these criminals accountable for robbing American taxpayers.”
U.S. Representative Buddy Carter (R-Ga.-01) led the legislation in the House of Representatives.
Read the full bill text HERE.
BACKGROUND
- Federal prosecutors allege that the total amount of stolen taxpayer dollars in Minnesota could exceed $9 billion.
- Under Governor Walz’s watch, front groups that pretended to provide social services stole billions of taxpayer dollars.
- In 2024, the Biden administration scrapped a rule that required child care centers to verify that kids actually attended their facilities to receive federal funding.
- The fraud extends far beyond Minnesota, which is why President Trump froze more than $10 billion in federal grants in five states following serious concerns about widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars in state-administered programs.
The Fraud Accountability Act would:
- Amend the INA to explicitly add any crime of fraud—of any amount—committed against private individuals, funds, corporations, or government entities as a deportable offense; and
- Revoke the naturalization of those who commit a crime of fraud or any other deportable offense.
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